哈佛招生官：让我惊喜的个人陈述是这样子的

很多学生对美国本科申请材料中尤其重要的个人陈述（Personal Essay）倍感头疼。他们不知道应该挑哪一段经历来写，应该写什么内容，要写到什么样的深度。他们也不知这篇文章该坚持自己的原创，还是听从国外读书的亲戚或老师的建议，把词汇改成高大上，或把文章改了一遍又一遍，变成面目全非、自己都有点不认识的样子。

如果你或你的孩子是他们中的一员，不妨看看哈佛录取招生官界定的优秀个人陈述的标准:https://college./admissions/application-requirements/application-tips#writing；小编摘取重要的部分做翻译，供大家参考。

1. look at it as an opportunity to write about something you care about, rather than what you think the Admissions Committee wants to hear.
写你在意的，而不是你认为我们可能喜欢的。

2. Some of the best essays I’ve read during my time as an admissions officer have been about seemingly insignificant topics. As you write, focus on allowing your voice and personality to come through.
担任哈佛招生官期间，我看过的美文，其主题貌似都关于微不足道的事情。但是，切记，让它成为你内心声音和个人品格的载体。

3. The essay is an opportunity for students to provide information that might not be contained in other parts of the application.
个人陈述也是个补漏的工具，把其他素材没能展现的信息补充给我们，让我们对你的了解更完整。

4. As an admissions officer, I personally get excited to read through an essay that has a great lead.
字里行间都有吸引读者往下读的魅力。这样的个人陈述让我这样的招生官尤为惊喜。

5. Editing is a critical talent that will become increasingly important as students advance through college, graduate and professional school, and, of course, in their professions. Please consider the admissions essay a good opportunity to apply and perhaps develop that skill.
记得润色你的个人陈述。这个能力非常重要，它将有益于你的本科学习、研究生学习、专业学习，甚至你以后的就业。

6. It can be helpful to have your essay reviewed by another person to check on typos, etc., but the beauty of a good essay is that it captures the tone and personality of the applicant. Sometimes too much editing prevents us from getting a sense of your real voice.
让其他人帮忙排版等事情是可以的，但一篇好的个人陈述应该能展现学生的态度和个性。有时，太多的编辑让我们招生官感受不到你的真实。

7. Don’t make your essay sound like a lengthy recitation or a thesaurus. The essay is not a vocabulary test! Don’t feel the need to consult a thesaurus to impress us with your vocabulary.
不要把个人陈述当成一首冗长的古诗或一部完整的词典。它不是一个词汇测试！千万不要为了让我们印象深刻而查询和引用太多词典里的（生僻）单词！

8. We can usually tell if it is real or not.
我们能判断你的个人陈述是自己完成，还是借助了外力。

9. We look carefully to see how consistent the essay is with other parts of the application, including grades in English courses, standardized tests, and, occasionally, the actual download of the essay that is part of the SAT and ACT. It is impossible to make up for serious deficiencies in the other parts of the student’s application (such as high school grades) with an essay.
我们会仔细研究你的个人陈述与其他申请材料是否一致，比如英语课成绩，标准考试成绩，或你SAT/ACT的写作部分（我们有时有下载做对比）。如果你这些方面存在着重大不足，那么即使个人陈述再优秀，我们也会考虑不给予录取。